Victor Diamond Mine

The Victor Diamond Mine is the first Canadian diamond mine located in Ontario, and De Beers' second diamond mine in Canada (after the Snap Lake Diamond Mine). It is located in the Northern Ontario Ring of Fire, in the James Bay Lowlands 90km west of Attawapiskat in the remote northern part of the province. In June 2005, the Attawapiskat First Nation voted in favour (85.5%) of ratifying the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA). Construction of the mine began in February 2006 which created 3200 positions; mining and operations will create around 400 permanent positions. The Victor Mine is an open-pit mine, with a processing plant, workshops, and an airstrip located on site. By 2013-2014 royalties collected from De Beers Victor Diamond Mine amounted to $226. At that time De Beers was continuing to pay off its "$1 billion investment to build the mine and from now until it closes, the company expects to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalties."HistoryDe Beers started looking for Kimberlite Pipes within Canada in the 1960s. "The Victor Mine was developed within a cluster of 16 kimberlite pipes that were discovered in the James Bay Lowlands near Attawapiskat in 1987." In 1995 the pipes of the James Bay Lowland area were re-examined and interest was renewed in the Victor Mine Project. The cost feasibility of mining Victor diamonds was done in 2002. In 2005, the Project gained approval after an environmental assessment by the Federal and Provincial government and soon after construction began. In 2007, the Moose Cree First Nations peoples signed in favour of the Victor mine and the first successful productions of diamonds began. June 20, 2008 Victor Mine entered the production phase. De Beers celebrated its opening July 26 and reached an agreement with the Province of Ontario to allow up to 10% of the mine's production to be available to the cutting and polishing industry in Ontario. As of October 2009, the Victor Mine was voted “Mine of the year” by readers of the international trade publication called Mining Magazine, Fort Albany and Kaschewan First Nations also signed onto the Victor Mine.